The impact of Pulpwood Rail Freight Costs on the Minnesota-Wisconsin Pulpwood Market

Abstract

Transportation costs affect the marketing and utilization of pulpwood. Their impact on the procurement and utilization of pulpwood often prove difficult to measure because deriving an average annual measure of the transportation cost is difficult. This note, by means of a simple index method for measuring regional interstate pulpwood rail freight costs, illustrates that the cost for shipping pulpwood from Minnesota to Wisconsin by rail more than doubled between 1946 and 1958. In 1959 rates declined slightly and remained stable before escalating in the late 1960''s and early 1970''s to more than three time the 1946 rate. Rail rates were estimated to have a significant impact on shipments of pulpwood from Minnesota to Wisconsin mills, and Wisconsin mill utilization of both softwood and hardwood pulpwood.

Citation

Lothner, David C. 1976. The impact of Pulpwood Rail Freight Costs on the Minnesota-Wisconsin Pulpwood Market. Research Note NC-215. St. Paul, MN: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Central Forest Experiment Station